Brassiere frame



July 21, 1959 A. SPITZER BRASSIERE'FRAME Filed Nov. 13,. 1958 FIG. 1

INVENTOR Anne TTOR-NEY United States Patent BRASSIERE FRAME Anne Spitzer, Bayside, N.Y., assignor to Lily of France, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application November 13, 1958, Serial No. 773,793

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-476) This invention relates to brassieres and more particularly to wire or plastic frames of the type adapted to be embodied in a conventional brassiere.

As has been the practice in the past, supporting frames in a brassiere have been of a general arcuate shape, substantially in the form of a semi-circle and provided a hammock support for the breasts. Such frames usually cause an unnatural, flat contour, as well as spreading of the breasts which are contained in the cups of the brassiere and defined by such arcuate wire.

The primary purpose of this invention is the provision of a novel means for bust support which permits the delineation of a more natural contour of the breasts.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a unitary support for the bust, made of a substantially rigid material, which may be incorporated in brassieres simply and inexpensively.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a brassiere having a substantially rigidly embedded bust molding frame therein which will serve to support and shape the female bust, resulting in a contour substantially conforming to anatomical standards and fashion requirements.

A further object is to provide a form, embedded in a brassiere, which serves to center and elevate the breasts in the bust sections of a brassiere, eliminating the spreading of the breasts at the bottom of each cup, and further eliminating the need for hammock supports for the breasts.

In order to achieve the foregoing objects, there is provided a novel brassiere support, of wire or other substantially rigid material, which is somewhat pointed at the bottom and then spreads angularly upwardly. When such a wire form is inserted at the bottom of each cup section of the brassiere, the bust is squeezed or pushed to a natural uplift, and each breast is better centered in the bust sections of the brassiere. My novel construction of frame also eliminates spreading of the breasts at the bottom of each cup, which is a natural result of a hammock type supportive mold, and confines even a pendulous bust properly.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a brassiere showing the embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one of a pair of bust supporting wire forms constructed in accordance with my inven' tion; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, the embodiment of this invention is illustrated in a brassiere and comprises body straps 11 and 12 extending from the sides of the front of the garment to the rear where they are fastened in conventional manner, not shown in the drawing. Between such body encircling straps 11 and 12 is what may be generally designated as the front of the garment and comprises a pair of breast pockets l3 and 14 laterally spaced within a diaphragm panel 15, such panel being joined to the body encircling straps at seams 16 and 17 respectively.

Within panel 15, breast pockets 13, 14 are bounded by a substantially rigid supporting frame 20 running along a boundary from near the side seams 16, 17 to the central portion of the brassiere, encompassing the lower edges of the breast pockets 13 and 14, and generally designated as the lower perimeter 18, while the top edge of the breast pocket forms the upper edge of the brassiere. Each supporting wire frame 20 is secured to each breast pocket 13, 14 on the outer face thereof by means of a tape 19.

Although shoulder straps are not shown, a brassiere utilizing the features of this invention may well include such appurtenances, as well as variations thereof.

Referring to Fig. 1, and to Fig. 3, which represents a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, a layer of net-like fabric 34, having an outer and inner face, forms the body of the garment, its lower portion forming the diaphragm panel 15. Lying within the upper section of the net-like fabric 34, and within its inner face, is a non-stretchable fiber layer 31 defining each breast pocket 13, 14. The top edges of said breast pocket form the upper edges of the garment 10, whereas the lower edges are seamed to the inner face of net-like fabric 34 and defines the lower perimeter 18 of said breast pocket. Upon the inner face, and generally in the lower portion of fiber layer 31, an additional layer of padded fiber 32 is seamed along edge 35, 36 of the lower perimeter of each breast pocket to form a breast cup within said breast pocket.

Interleafed along the edges of said breast pocket and breast cup 32 seamed along the inner face of panel 15 and generally following the contour of the perimeter 18 of the breast pocket, a strip of plush 33 is provided to furnish comfort to the wearer against the stresses of the supporting frame 20. Upon the outer face of net-like fabric 34, and following the contour of the breast pockets 13, 14, the frame support 20, according: to this invention, is affixed to net-like fabric 34 at seams 35 and 38 by the use of tape 19.

In Fig. 2, the supporting frame 20 is shown formed in a novel V shape according to this invention. The frame 20 may be of wire or other resilient, substantially rigid material able to be formed simply and inexpensively. The apex 21 of the frame is slightly curved in an elliptical arc to prevent discomfort to the wearer. The arms 23, 24, extend upwardly and outwardly substantially to a midpoint between apex 21 and terminals 24, 25, further extending substantially parallel to each other, to blunted terminals 24, 25 respectively, the shorter arm 22 being positioned toward the central portion of the garment 10, Whereas the longer arm 23 is positioned toward the body straps 11, 12. As can be seen, the natural direction of the bust strain, as indicated by solid arrows, is contained by the frame, and due to its novel construction, said frame imparts its stresses generally in the direction of the dotted lines. The unique directional pattern taken by such stresses of the frame, tend to squeeze or push the breast centerward, simultaneously lifting and centering the same.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A supporting frame of substantially V shape, having a pair of arms extending outwardly and upwardly 3 4 from an elliptical apex to a midpoint between said apex lower portions of the breast pockets of the brassiere, and a terminal; said arms further extending parallel to whereby said frameprovides upward-pressure, lifting and each other from said midpoint to said terminal. centering the breasts of the wearer of the brassiere.

2. A supporting frame for a brassiere having breast pockets, of substantially angular shape, having at least 5 References Cited in the file of this Patent two/arms, said armsv emanating fromvthe apex of an angle IT D TATES PATENTS nd extendingoutwardlyand upwardly to a midpoint be- 2,678,445 Tagliem May 18 1954 tween'said apexand aterminal point, said armsfurther extending parallel to each other from said rnidpoint to a FOREIGN PATENTS terminal point, so that said arms engage the sides and 10 1,043,638 France June 17, 1953 

